Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Dragonair is increasing its Clark to Hong Kong flights to six times per week beginning next month. Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) said the plan to hike the weekly Clark to Hong Kong flights was discussed during the meeting of CIAC president Alexander Cauguiran and Dragonair country manager Rob Bradshaw. “We are increasing our frequencies this December from four to six times weekly as we are expecting an increase in traffic at Clark Airport, and we are very much excited on the developments (in relation to the Clark International Airport),” Bradshaw said. The government is positioning Clark as an alternative to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport. To promote Clark International Airport, President Duterte has earlier announced programs such as expansion and putting in place support infrastructure, construction of a railway system to link Clark to Manila, as well as the development of a second passenger terminal which should start by the middle of next year. Cauguiran said CIAC would continue to support the carrier’s operations. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Following the increase in weekly flights, Bradshaw said Dragonair intends to add more flights serving Clark International Airport. The plan to add more flights is being considered as part of Dragonair’s rebranding to Cathay Dragon in the coming weeks. “We hope this new brand will bolster demand especially for Clark Airport,” Bradshaw said. Dragonair started operations in the Clark Airport in November 2008. A subsidiary of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, Dragonair operates Read More …

“All field audit and other field operations, including all enforcement activities, shall continue during this holiday season,” Revenue Memorandum Circular 109-2016 dated Nov. 7 stated. File photo MANILA, Philippines – There will be no let-up on the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s audits this holiday season as it aims to reverse a revenue slowdown toward maximum revenue collection by the end of the year. “All field audit and other field operations, including all enforcement activities, shall continue during this holiday season,” Revenue Memorandum Circular 109-2016 dated Nov. 7 stated. “It is reminded that all efforts should be directed to ensure maximum revenue collection throughout the year,” it said. In previous years, BIR stops audits from Dec. 15 until Jan. 1 of the following year. Eleanor Roque, a director of industry group Tax Management Association of the Philippines, said halting audits during Christmas season before was meant to avoid “tax examiners asking gifts.” “But I guess now, given the promises and the declarations of the new administration, taxpayers are assured that will not happen or if it does, they have ways to report it,” she said in a phone interview. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 BIR, which accounts for around 80 percent of state revenues, had fluctuating performance since the Duterte administration took over in June 30. It increased revenues by one percent in July, a seven-month low, before recovering to a 10-percent uptick the following month. In September, it slowed again to one percent. It brought the Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) plans to forge tie-ups with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for the promotion of tourism products and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the capacity building of non-English speaking tour guides. Tourism Undersecretary for regulation, coordination and resource generation Alma Jimenez said this was part of the various convergence initiatives being considered by national agencies under the new administration. “One of the convergence programs which will surface soon, is the signing of an agreement between the DTI and the DOT for the mutual promotion of tourism products,” Jimenez said.  “Tourism will be considered a product of the DTI, the same way we consider the products being espoused by the DTI,” she added. Under the partnership, the DOT will showcase the various products of the Philippines in their showrooms, while the DTI will promote Philippine destinations and tour packages. Jimenez said the DOT was also considering taking part in the reintegration program of DOLE for returning overseas Filipino workers to convert them into tour guides once back in the Philippines. Instead of training tour guides in various languages, such as Chinese and Japanese, the official said the DOT would hire returning OFWs and capacitate them as tour guides. “It’s harder for us (DOT) to teach language training. Incidentally, I removed the language training in the industry and manpower development (of DOT) because what I wanted was our returning OFWs, who already have conversational ability to speak languages of their Read More …

British banking giant HSBC expects the peso to  breach the 50 to $1 level early next year due to the shocking victory of Republican Donald Trump as well as the notable shift in government policy under the Duterte administration. File photo MANILA, Philippines – The peso tumbled to a near eight-year low against the dollar yesterday, closing at 49.35 from Tuesday’s close of  49.17 to $1 as the dollar continued to strengthen against major currencies. Yesterday’s close was the lowest since it settled at  49.37 to $1 on Dec. 4, 2008 due to the global financial crisis. Trading volume increased to $666.5 million from Tuesday’s $600.9 million. British banking giant HSBC expects the peso to  breach the 50 to $1 level early next year due to the shocking victory of Republican Donald Trump as well as the notable shift in government policy under the Duterte administration. In a report, HSBC said the peso is expected to settle at  49.40 to $1 this year and  at 50.70 to $1  in 2017. HSBC said the election of President Duterte in May has led to a notable shift in government policy and fortunes for the peso. The bank pointed out Duterte was elected on his proposals of large-scale infrastructure spending, economic reforms and reduction of crime. Initially, HSBC said the political change could be positive for the peso with reforms paving the way for foreign direct investment inflows. However, the foreign bank said it underestimated the administration’s change in foreign policy after President Read More …

LONDON/BERLIN — German chemicals and healthcare group Bayer AG is selling four billion euros ($4.3 billion) worth of mandatory convertible notes to help fund its proposed acquisition of US seeds company Monsanto Co. The issue will be the largest ever mandatory convertible bond for a European issuer and the largest European equity capital markets (ECM) deal in 2016, which has proved a volatile year for markets, leading to the cancellation or delay of several initial public offerings in Europe in recent weeks. Bayer said in a statement on Tuesday that issuing the notes, which convert on Nov. 22, 2019, is the first part of its previously announced plan to raise $19 billion in equity capital to help finance the $66 billion Monsanto deal, which still has to be cleared by the regulatory authorities in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. A banker working on the convertible issue, code-named “Mercury,” said a mixture of long-only investors and hedge funds were expected to subscribe and the sale was covered in an accelerated bookbuild which is due to be finalized on Wednesday. “The shares had rallied post (US) election. There is a depth of market support for financing the acquisition,” he added. Bayer’s shares have risen 6.6 percent to 94.78 euros since Donald Trump was elected president last week, calming investors’ fears that tough action would be taken on drug pricing in the United States. Joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners for the offer are Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, Goldman Read More …